Can You Really Get a Good Deal Shopping Carvana Cars Online? We Review Carvana Vending Machines & More!
The internet has given us the ability to purchase all types of things online, from our weekly groceries to products from the far corners of the globe. A newer online shopping concept that’s been gaining some traction is buying a car online.
Some forward-thinking companies, like Carvana car sales, offer this virtual car-buying experience and promote the ability to shop from the comfort of your own home. Another big benefit of purchasing an automobile online is to avoid that age-old price haggling.
Carvana Review
But, putting down thousands of dollars to buy a car that you’ve never seen or driven in person has many wondering, “Is Carvana legit?”. To some, it just seems a bit far-fetched to pick up a car from a Carvana vending machine.
In this AdvisoryHQ News Carvana review, we’ll take a look at the reality of the Carvana buying experience and go through unbiased Carvana reviews from multiple car buyers to see if this online dealer is really legit.
What is Carvana and how does Carvana work? We’ll take you through the process step-by-step and also tell you how they get around the test drive before you buy limitation.
If you’ve ever wondered if car buying could be so much easier and if Carvana was a legitimate place to buy a pre-owned car, read on to find out everything you need to know about Carvana.
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AdvisoryHQ Carvana Review | What is Carvana?
Carvana was founded over five years ago as a way to revolutionize the used car buying business. The concept is that you look through detailed auto photos online to find and buy the used car you want and skip the whole dealership hassle.
The company works through both a home delivery model and also has 16 different Carvana locations around the country with a Carvana vending machine (we’ll list those shortly).
Carvana became a public company in 2017 and is on the New York Stock Exchange (CVNA). There is some discrepancy with the headquarters location, some resources say it’s in Tempe, AZ, but on the company’s press releases, they mention a Phoenix, AZ base.
In a Carvana review of the company’s inventory, they note the ability to shop more than 13,000 vehicles on their website, and they have as fast as next day delivery.
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How Does Carvana Work for Buyers?
Buying a used car from Carvana is a completely different experience than going to the car lot to pick something out, and that’s the whole point. The entire shopping experience can be done from your home, from the initial Carvana car sale to the final delivery of the vehicle.
Carvana Cars
A big benefit is the large inventory of autos you can shop that’s much larger than any one car lot could hold. You can shop everything from Dodge Caravan car sales to luxury Mercedes-Benz cars, and just about anything else you can think of.
While the online purchase process for Carvana cars makes some people wonder, “Is Carvana legit?”, others embrace the chance to skip the face-to-face with a salesman and just purchase for a flat rate price.
Carvana Car Buying Process Review:
- Browse online through 360-degree Carvana car photos
- Click “Get Started” once you find the car you want
- Sign up for an account if you don’t already have one
- Select your payment option of cash, Carvana financing, or Third-party financing
- Choose whether or not you’re trading in a vehicle
- Opt in to either GAP insurance coverage and/or Carvana Care extended warranty
- Upload your driver’s license & other requested documents
- Choose delivery to your door or pickup at one of the Carvana locations with a vending machine
- Make your purchase
- Carvana will reach out to you to confirm the details
Carvana Vending Machine
Getting a car out of a machine like you would a candy bar seems too good to be true. But, part of the charm of those Cavana car sales commercials are their giant car vending machines. But do they really work as perfectly as shown or are there Carvana complaints about them?
We’ve got a few Carvana reviews below specifically about the vending machine experience, but first, let’s find out where you can find them.
Carvana vending machines are currently located in the following cities:
- Austin, TX
- Atlanta, GA
- Birmingham, AL
- Charlotte, NC
- Frisco, TX
- Gaithersburg, MD
- Houston, TX
- Jacksonville, FL
- Nashville, TN
- Orlando, FL
- Philadelphia, PA
- Raleigh, NC
- San Antonio, TX
- Tampa, FL
- Tempe, AZ
- Warrensville Heights, OH
What if you don’t live in one of those Carvana locations?
If you don’t live in one of the Carvana locations that has a vending machine, you can get your car delivered to your home. But if you really want to see how the Carvana vending machine works, they do offer a special deal.
You can choose to “Fly and Drive” and book a one-way flight to a Carvana location with a vending machine. Carvana will subsidize $200 of your airfare and also arrange “white glove” transportation from the airport to their vending machine.
Reviews of Carvana’s Car Vending Machines
Carvana reviews are mixed overall but mainly positive for their car vending machines. Many like the novel experience of picking up a Carvana car from a multi-storied clear building filled with cars.
Here are some Carvana reviews regarding the process:
- One reviewer praised the gift bag given with a $25 gas card and the excellent customer service. When they found there was only one key given with the vehicle, Carvana paid to have another key made and also fixed a few scratches that happened in transit.
- Another reviewer gave a more negative Carvana review of their car vending machine experience. As their vehicle made its way down the vending machine, the bumper got hit by two metal gates causing damage. The appeal of the machine was immediately gone.
- There were no Carvana complaints from another buyer who thought the car vending machine experience was fun. They also praised the 7-day guarantee in their Carvana review and were able to exchange their car for another one with no questions asked.
How Does Carvana Work with Test Drives?
One big drawback that keeps people from shopping Dodge Caravan car sales or any other vehicle type on Carvana is the lack of ability to do a pre-sale test drive. That’s a non-starter for many who don’t want to hand over their hard-earned money before they can try the car out first.
What is Carvana’s policy on test drives? To get over the test drive issue, they offer a 7-day money-back guarantee on all Carvana cars sales. This allows you to have those seven days to test drive after you buy and still return the car for a full refund.
The 7-day money-back guarantee starts the day you receive your vehicle. The only additional charge is if you’ve driven it more than 400 miles during that time, in which case you’re charged $1.00 per mile over that.
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How Does Carvana Work for Sellers?
Carvana isn’t just for buying cars, it can also be just as convenient for selling one. Whether you’re doing a trade-in with a new Carvana car sale or just want to sell your car outright without buying one, they do it all online.
One of the Carvana reviews we ran across on Reddit said they found it very convenient to handle the car selling process online rather than having to meet people coming to their home to see the car.
How’s the pricing? Is Carvana legit as a purchaser of cars? Carvana uses the Kelley Blue Book value as a guide to price vehicles. They adopt the same “no-haggling” principal for car selling as they do for buying.
Carvana Car Selling Process Review:
- Fill out their online form with details on your car
- You’ll need to provide photos of the car as well as the odometer, title, and the driver’s license of anyone listed on the title
- You’ll receive your trade appraisal in minutes
- Trade appraisals are valid for 7 days
- Once you accept, Carvana will make arrangements to meet you to pick up the car and make payment to you
- Trade-in’s with liens are paid off once the sale is completed and after your 7-day guarantee period is over
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Carvana Review | Customers’ Experience
What is Carvana’s track record with ratings and reviews? Do people find their car buying process as seamless as they make it out to be? How’s their rating at the Better Business Bureau (BBB)?
We’ve taken a look at multiple unbiased Carvana reviews from around the web to give you the scoop. We’ll go through both positive and negative highlights from the following:
- Carvana reviews BBB
- Carvana reviews DealerRater
- Carvana reviews HighYa
- Carvana reviews Yelp
First, let’s see how they rate overall from Carvana reviews at BBB and the others.
Carvana Review & Ratings
- Better Business Bureau (78 Carvana reviews BBB A Rating) – 2 out of 5
- DealerRater (192 Carvana reviews) – 4.7 out of 5
- HighYa (213 Carvana reviews) – 2.5 out of 5
- Yelp (147 Carvana reviews) – 2.5 out of 5
Carvana Review Highlights – Negative Feedback
- In a Carvana review BBB posting, the reviewer said the buying process was great, but things went downhill after delivery. The call smelled bad and they also had to wait forever for the car tags and had to rent a car when the tags expired.
- Another Carvana complaint said the car wasn’t what they were shown. It looked great online in the photos but when they picked it up at the Carvana vending machine, it had several paint chips and a crack in the windshield, they returned it for their money back.
- In a negative Carvana review on Yelp, the reviewer said it was the worst car buying experience ever. They had issues with lost paperwork, the damage they saw once the car was delivered, and late delivery.
- Having to wait two months to receive the car tag for their Carvana car was mentioned in another negative Carvana review. Once the temporary tag expired, they were left not being able to legally drive their new car until the tags were finally sent.
Carvana Review Highlights – Positive Feedback
- A happy car seller said it was the easiest sales process ever. Their Carvana review mentioned that they were skeptical at first and wondered if Caravana was legit, but they were put at ease after calling and speaking with them.
- In a positive Carvana review at DealerRater, the reviewer couldn’t have been happier with the whole process. They signed up to receive emails about vehicles matching what they wanted, and once bought, the delivery process was quick and easy and they even got a “swag” bag.
- In a 5-star Carvana review, the buyer said Carvana was very reliable. They were hesitant to use the service at first but found it was easy and would highly recommend it.
- Lots of feedback and hand-holding by the Carvana staff made another Carvana reviewer very happy. They felt they got a good deal on their vehicle and didn’t have to deal with the haggling experience of the traditional car lots.
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AdvisoryHQ’s Carvana Review Conclusion
If you’re looking for a less stressful car buying or selling experience, then Carvana has definitely provided that for many people. Those looking for caravan car sales, pickup truck car sales, or any other type of vehicle, generally find the online shopping process easy.
Where some of the less favorable experiences come in are in the post-buying process. The biggest issues we saw in Carvana review highlights were a damage that wasn’t shown online but found upon delivery and issues with the car tags taking forever to arrive.
Carvana’s 7-day money-back guarantee does give buyers that are unhappy with a car once they see it a way to get their money back. People that used it did not report any problems with the guarantee. Just that you need to make sure you make a decision before that week is up.
By far, sellers reported positive Carvana experiences with much less hassle than trying to sell a car themselves.
As for those Carvana vending machines… Yes, they are real! Yes, they do work! And unfortunately, on occasion, they might cause a ding if a gate hits your vehicle on the way out. But generally, we didn’t see any major reports of that happening.
Overall, Carvana gets great marks for customer service, for honoring their satisfaction guarantee, and for creating a whole new online car buying experience.
Image sources:
- https://www.carvana.com/
- https://www.carvana.com/cars
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